Leicester City vs. Hull City

Preview: Leicester vs Hull

Nigel Pearson returns to the Walkers Stadium for the first time since leaving Leicester, as he brings his Hull City side to the Walkers Stadium.

Pearson left the Foxes in June after being severely let down by the club, and returns to his former stomping ground with Sven-Goran Eriksson now the man in his old shoes.

Saturday's match sees Eriksson's first match in charge of the Foxes, having picked up the reins from the recently departed Paulo Sousa two weeks ago.

Eriksson and his Leicester side spent last weekend in Thailand where they played the Asian nation's national side in Bangkok.

Leicester currently reside in the relegation zone with just eight points from their opening 10 matches, but go into the match having won their previous match against Scunthorpe.

Hull have not won in their previous two matches however, and have so far travelled poorly this campaign.

They are currently the Championship's second-lowest goalscorers with just seven so far, and have conceded all their 13 goals away from home.

Victory for Eriksson and Leicester would see the Foxes jump to within a point of the Yorkshire outfit, but it is Pearson's side who hold the historical advantage having kept clean sheets in three of their precious four matches against City.

Hull's last visit to the Walkers came in their victorious promotion winning campaign on 2007/08, goals from Dean Marney and Caleb Folan helping the Tigers to a comfortable 2-0 win on the day.

Vital Quotes:

Leicester manager Sven-Goran Eriksson: "The confidence is going up and up, so let's hope we can carry on like this.

"It's a big game. It will be a fight and we've still got a marathon to do with 36 games but that's life."

Hull manager Nigel Pearson: "I had a good time at Leicester, and I've heard one or two comments in the last 24 hours about my departure.

"People can say what they want, but the bottom line is that I resigned, and my decision was based on the fact that if they wanted to keep me, if they'd shown any inclination to do that - then they could have done."

Leicester City Team News:

Leicester welcome new signings Kyle Naughton and Curtis Davies into the squad after both completed their loan moves this week.

Dany N'Guessan will definitely be missing after injuring his ankle in last weekend's friendly win.

Player to watch: Kyle Naughton

The Tottenham loanee should make his first start in Eriksson's opening match in charge, with a point to prove to his parent club.

The 21-year-old right-back looks to be an astute signing for Leicester, who should be looking forward to seeing the exciting full-back in action.

Hull City Team News:

Jimmy Bullard is doubtful with another knee injury, and could be replaced by youngster John Bostock should he fail a late fitness test.

Player to watch: Robert Koren

Koren was identified as a target for Leicester by former manager Paulo Sousa, but priced the Foxes out of a move with high wage demands.

Nonetheless Koren is at Hull now, and should prove himself to be a significant danger from midfield.

With an eye for a pass and a reputation for a goal, Koren is an established Championship midfielder the Foxes will be wary of.

Match Facts & Stats

- Leicester have won 32 of the 70 meetings between the two clubs, Hull having won 27.

- Leicester have had more attempts on goal than any other side in the Championship.

- Their matches have also featured the most goals - 36.

- Hull have kept clean sheets in all but one of their previous five matches.

Match Prediction:

A fresh start and some positive signings should boost the squad ahead of this one. I fancy us for a 1-0 win.

Next Fixtures:

Tuesday 19th October:

Leicester: Leeds (A)

Hull: Sheff Utd (H)

Use your social login to comment on front page articles. Login using you Facebook, Twitter, Google or LinkedIn accounts and have your say!

Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.